At the end of June 2007, Norges Bank’s Printing Works was shut down and banknote production in Norway came to an end. The decision to discontinue operations was made by the Executive Board in 2002. The first banknotes were delivered the year after the establishment of Norges Bank in 1816. Thus, banknotes have been produced in Norway for 190 years. As of 2008, Norwegian banknotes will be delivered by commercial security printers in France and the UK. Closures or transferral to private operators have previously been implemented among state-owned/central bank-owned printing works in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Finland, and there are signs that other countries will follow suit
